How long have I been using Blink Step? Since nearly the beginning, right? Maybe a little over two months, in game? How could I forget that it's a self-targeting Spell and that I could've been using it with Spell Division this whole time?

I try really hard not to think about what effect this combination could have had on the Wraith battle and keep my head in the now. Like how right now we're facing off against a whole lotta teeth. More specifically, the grinning, evil kind found in the festering mouths of Hobgoblins. Not far from where I made my mental proclamation, Conner's squad noticed their approach from the west and sent those of us in the party a strange message using a new Skill called Mind Frame. It allows the user to take a mental picture of what they're seeing, like a kind of screenshot, and send it to the other party members.

Dirty, grey skin; greasy, black hair; vicious, yellow eyes; and bodies hardened by labor and endless combat. Just the typical, humanoid threat that we've all come to love to hate.

It takes us a moment to coordinate ourselves properly. I don't want the kobolds materializing inside of a tree, each other, or me. When a person uses Blink Step on their own, I guess they don't have to consider this many things into their calculations. Maybe that's why a single person can do it in an instant and why I haven't tried to use it in battle. It would have to take a group of people thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time to be used at the necessary speed for combat. Maybe someday. My squad and I use my suddenly less-than genius choice for Spell Division to outflank the dozens of Hobs while their attention was set on Conner and Elsbeth's groups.

Something about this pack of Hobs is different from what I would expect from them. For one, their armor and weapons look to be made mostly of bone parts and not leathers and iron except for the bigger Hobs with iron kite shields. And, instead of coming out to meet us in battle, they circle around four, large wagons and mangy horses in a defensive posture. The poorly built wagons have no canvas coverings, but are put together like boxes on wheels with hand sized gaps all over the place. How they're supposed to keep the things inside safe is--

"Wait… hands? Are those hands?" I ask my group as they begin firing from behind cover. Indeed, a grey-furred hand with abnormally long fingers reaches out of the wagon before the crack of a whip sends it back inside. Before I could do anything more, however, I wave of dizziness almost knocks me off my feet and I have to grab onto a tree just to stay upright. Milli turns her head to inspect me, her blue feathers glint when they catch some light, and she asks if I'm alright.

"I'll be fine, thanks. Focus fire on any Casters or other ranged Fighters first." A fiery rock hurtles towards us and I cast Mana Shield to absorb the hit. The Kobolds huddle in close to my legs and brace for impact. The rock explodes with fiery energy, sending out embers, spraying debris, and buckling my knees. Still, I'm glad that no harm comes to my little lizard friends.

[Mana Shield blocks 107 damage! -107MP]

[Moderately High ambient mana: Reduce MP Regen wait to 0seconds, increase HP Regen wait by 10seconds.]

"Is this my new Feat?" I mumble to myself. A quick check shows my MP is already on the rise and negating the shield's casting cost and damage drain in seconds. That is awesome! Even though a seventeen second HP Regen wait means I can't rely on it to save me from dying during combat especially with a Regen rate of 15HP per second. That must be why I got so dizzy earlier.

With my MP continuously replenishing, I don't have to worry about conserving Spells. From our position, I cast Beacon of Alacrity to increase everyone's attack speed and Agility, Lesser Dragon Force for me, and another Mana Shield with my other hand to create a wider barrier. Not needing to use either hands as foci to keep the shields active, the kobolds toss me their empty boxes and I store most of them while simultaneously trying to reload a few. We have got to make more boxes or at least get more storage devices.

Not wanting to accidentally kill or even hurt what look to be prisoners in the cage wagons, our air units keep their distance, targeting Hobs with single target attacks, none of which have any splash effects. Dawn joins Conner's squad and leads the group closer to the action. Two Hobs glow yellow, then red, probably using some sort of Berserker Ability and I order my squad to concentrate their fire at the leading one. They're able to take it down with a hail of arrows, but the second one slams into Dawn's shield with full force and explodes in a plume of dirt and rock.

After the dust settles, it's clear to see under Dawn's feet are two drag lines only a couple inches long. A glowing yellow Thunderstruck slams into the side of the Hob's knee with an eye-popping crunch and it crumbles like a pillar of dry sand. Totally lacking any sense of mercy, the Thunderstruck swings down at the fallen creature's face sharp side first. From behind her more arrows fly out and they take control of the first wagon. Vic calls us over our ear cuffs to follow Dawn's lead and we do so with renewed gusto.

Pulling their hoods over their heads, except for Tamu who already had his up, and switching to melee weapons, I use Spell Division to cast Body of Smoke on us and we breeze in towards the last, and most protected wagon in the line. In a low voice I tell my squad about a little in and out plan once we get there and they confirm with a firm "Aye aye."

Around our wagon there are a total of fourteen Hobgoblins, four with the kite shields and swords made of wood, covered in serrated, triangular teeth. They remind me of the kind used by Polynesian warriors. Usually, people resorted to these kinds of weapons when there's a lack of metals or technology. Seeing it paired with the obviously metal shields makes me wonder for a moment. The emblem on their shields, too, is curiously familiar. Is the white, skeletal hand a nod to Lord of the Rings or something? There aren't any other players here, but that doesn't mean they aren't controlling the Hobs somehow. The labels and rainbow bars above their heads come into view, meaning Dawn must have Scanned them, and I check a few out as we get into position.

[Hobgoblin Trapper, Hand of Nyctos. Level 28

[1050/1277HP, 90/90MP, 303/415SP]

[Hobgoblin Guard, Hand of Nyctos. Level 30

[989/1903HP, 90/90MP, 517/517SP]

[Hobgoblin Battlemaster, Hand of Nyctos. Tier 1 Boss. Level 33.

[3100/3100HP, 90/90MP, 607/607SP]

The Battlemaster is shouting orders and pointing with a glowing yellow tooth sword while the Guards tighten their protection around him. The Trappers, which seem to be a sort of Ranger, fire their arrows with simple, wooden short bows. A colorless aura envelopes them and a steely glint flashes in their eyes. It would be a frightening sight if they were actually aiming at me or my group at all.

My plan works a total of three times, before we fall back to regroup. Three times is more than enough to disrupt chain of command, eliminate high priority targets, and cause general chaos, all desired traits of a proper guerilla attack. And just like a good guerilla attack, it all happened so fast.

With my MP full by the time we slithered in through the vegetation unseen, we dismissed our smokey forms with concentrated attacks and vanish in an instant much like our efforts together with the Dire Rilla. First, we took care of the Boss. The last image in my mind of him is of all four of my Kobolds skewering him through gaps in his armor, my own claws tearing into his throat and face with Critical Stab and Echo Strike. I'd say the look on his face was priceless, but there really wasn't much left of it when I cast Spell Division and we dove into the cover of the grass. Each one of us had to have been given the Vital Spot damage bonus and that obviously meant it hurt.

Horrified, by the near instantaneous event and probably thinking the five figures they had just seen were a trick of the light or some high tier Ability, the Hobs stood mouths agape and limbs unresponsive. They cast their eyes all over the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the attacker, or attackers, but at the same time they still have to remain vigilant of the other battles raging around them.

Our second target, one of the better armored guards, goes down in a shower of black blood and panicked gurgling. My intention was to show them that their big, bad leader and those whose job it was to defend them, meant nothing to us and that death is only a blink away. This time, along with the rank body odor and rancid blood, the acidic tang of piss filled my nostrils.

By now it must be obvious to the prisoners that their captors are facing some kind of opposition as the cages begin to rock and holler for freedom. It sounds like the Hobs had stolen a whole, damn zoo from the cacophony and I have yet to hear any intelligible words. The Trappers make the mistake of turning their attention to the wagon. This time my intention is to hurt, rather than to kill. I order my squad to wait behind.

After three casts of Spell Division, I should be at 122/422MP but a glance tells me I'm between fifty and seventy five percent. So I get as many Trappers in a targeting line leading away from the wagon and spray them down with Trinity Stream. In three seconds, just about enough time for everyone to realize what exactly is happening, I deal about nine hundred damage to every hostile within range and Blink Step over to where my squad is still waiting in smoke form.

"They're on high alert now, so I'm going to teleport back and distract them by attacking head on. Before that, you all sneak back in and start taking out the Trappers as soon as I appear. Shadow Swim back here if you get into too much trouble. Don't worry about the Guards."

I watch the trails of smoke shoot forward and take in a deep, calming breath. I dodge an incoming arrow from one of the Trappers, watching him point me out to the rest of the Hobs. "That's right, idiot. Follow the bouncing Blue Mage." I growl to myself as I prepare two arcane katars.

The world vanishes and reappears in an instant. With one hand I block a Hob's sword arm and, with my other hand, drive my triangular blade into its underprotected armpit with a Critical Stab.

[Vital Spot! You deal 388 piercing damage and drain 76MP!]

Howling in pain, the Hobgoblin grits its bloody teeth and slams me with his yellow glowing shield. I try to push myself backwards with my legs to roll with the hit, but it still makes a pretty good impact and I tumble back across the dirt.

[Hobgoblin Guard bludgeons you for 185 damage!]

I finish my slide, lucky that the wind didn't get knocked out of me and I heal myself with Fey Touch a couple times. Without bothering to get up, I Blink Step just behind the Hob who sent me flying and get my revenge in the form of another Critical Stab and an Echo Strike. Barely alive, I spin around and shove the dazed Hob into the remaining two guards. I move forward and slice through them with several Air Cutters until I nearly hit zero SP. Pushing through the physical fatigue of running so low on Stamina, I fight on in an almost drunken state.

I take advantage of their continued bewilderment and activate Reach, keeping them both at least fifteen feet away from me. I have yet to be attacked from the back, so I call out to my squad.

"How we doing, team?" I ask, eyes darting back and forth between Hobs. I try to sneak my attacks into openings in their armor, but our constant movement and no feedback to my hands makes it difficult.

Dila is the first to speak up, "Hungry, sir. When's lunch?"

"You always hungry, Dila. Kobolds get fat too, you know?" That one is Haro, I can tell because his voice is just a little bit gruffer than the rest. I can imagine a cigar being at home at the corner of his mouth.

"Lunch good idea. Thinking Hob head stew," a Kobold giggles and I think it's the other girl, Milli. If it was, I would never expect such a dark sense of humor from the one wearing shiny, blue horn accessories.

"Yuck," Dila gripes.

"You eat Hob, Milli. Boar for rest of us." That one was definitely Tamu. Cut and dry is his personality, with a monotone voice to match.

"Aw," Milli whines, "Milli just joking. Oh! Maybe Malica bake cookies again?" Another giggle precedes the thud of a heavy body hitting the dirt.

[You received 257XP!]

[You have declined the item drops. Confirm Y/N?]

[Boss slayer! As the last to attack the boss when it died, you receive a bonus!

[You received 350XP, 1*Geomancer's Vine]

[Geomancer's Vine. Enchanted Journeyman Accessory. Wrist

[Attunable. Once attuned, a command phrase will turn this bracelet into a 25foot vine of Emerald Verdinia under the owner's control. Another command phrase will return it to the owner's wrist and back as a bracelet.]

We take a moment to reload boxes, restock potions, and refill bellies. I let my squad know how fantastic a job they did and they beamed with pride. When I ask about the score, Milli sheepishly raises her claw.

"Four, sir. Milli won game." I chuckle and shake my head. She takes it the wrong way and shrinks into her chest. I have to back pedal fast so I toss her the odd bracelet made of green metal in the form of a braided vine. Confused, I urge her to equip it and she does.

"Now, attune it, if you can." Her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as she nods her head and stutters the command phrase. The bracelet shoots out at me, wrapping me in a thick, crystalline, green vine. I get the Incapacitated Debuff while the Kobolds panic. The vine slowly squeezes me tighter and tighter, my words coming out in strained grunts.

"Command… Phrase… Milli…"

She squeeks out the words and the vine releases me, jumping back on her wrist. Rolling on the floor and gasping for breath, an upsidedown pair of boots becomes visible to me. Crawling back to my feet, I'm face to top of head with Dawn.

"You gonna be alright?" Dawn asks, arms crossed and a smirk spreading across her face.

"Yeah . Wasn't expecting that." I make sure Milli knows I'm okay, pushing the bracelet back towards her as she tries to return it to me. "I'm promoting you to squad leader. Is that okay, Commander?"

"Of course! Congrats, Milli!" She pats the head of the shocked, yellow kobold. The other three crowd her, squeaking in excitement. Dawn motions for me to follow her. I remind my squad to stay vigilant and recheck their gear.

"What's up, Dawn?" I ask. I only ever call her that when it's just the two of us, or when we're around Richter and Rachel. At first I called her "Boss" and "Commander" fasetiously, but after a while I started to really mean it. She's been amazing so far, doing and planning stuff I never would have been able to. Not only that, but when it comes time for combat she's no slouch. For someone whose class is supposed to be a healer, she dishes out incredible amounts of damage.

We approach the ripped open cage wagons and the last of the Dire Rillas take off. She points at the last two wagons, "Door number one or door number two?"

I tilt my hat up and scratch the back of my head, "Let's go with… door number one." Inside the second to last wagon is a single naked figure under a blanket taking weak bites of food in the company of Sonny and Rachel. Realizing I've seen this woman before, I blurt out her name, "Lydia?"

The young, snowy owl Avian Faunus freezes mid bite and looks up at me. Her eyes smile back and she nods her head. White feathers with flecks of grey surround her face like a mane and taper off into grey and white marbled hands and feet devoid of such plummage. Her wings, covered by the blanket, are white and grey like her face if I remember correctly. Rachel urges her to continue eating as I try to make sense of the situation. Pulling me aside, Dawn retells me the story in a hushed voice, not wanting to bring up the memory for Lydia any more times than absolutely necessary.

Apparently, they were successful in finding the abandoned airship and were able to plot its cyclical journey across the sky. They didn't have the proper equipment to explore it, not to mention how exhausted they were from before, during, and after the raid. They took some time to rest and to come up with a plan, but they were ambushed by the Hobgoblins a few days ago. The men were tortured and eventually eaten while they did unspeakable things to Lydia.

"And by unspeakable, I mean she literally couldn't talk about it. But, her lack of clothes and the brutal nature of the Hobs should be self evident. According to her, aside from the cruel fun they had in store for her, the only other things that were of importance were their gear and everyone's bones."

"Bones?" I ask, not liking where she is going, conversationally and physically, as Dawn leads me to door number two. The thought of a smug Halfling waving a boney hand connects dots in my head and my stomach roils with anger.

"The Battlemaster was adamant about saving the bones for their master, probably the little prick Necromancer." She shakes her head as she gestures to, but doesn't open, the door. She doesn't need to. The smell alone tells me that though they were following orders, there must not have been any directive to clean or sanitize anything they saved. The buzzing of hundreds of flies is not helping my gut situation and my first impulse is to set the damn wagon ablaze. When I ask her what she wanted to do with it, she sighs in resignation.

"They kept everything in this one, loot AND bones. One of the things we have to retrieve is the map with the airship's course. If Dez is out there, we could really use its advantage." She casts Pillar of Radiance on the wagon and we watch the light envelope it and its surroundings. All the flies turn to pixel dust and she shrugs.

"At least that took care of the flies. You got anything for the smell?" I ask rhetorically. She considers my request but I wave her off. I check and double check to make sure Enhanced Smell is off, not wanting to accidentally use it while in the wagon. I look back at Dawn and she gives me a whincing smile and thumbs up. My last words to her before opening the door are, "I'd rather fight Kilmosoth by myself than this shit."

Once inside, the moldy and acrid odor of decaying meat swirls behind my eyeballs and stings my lungs. Instead of picking through and inspecting everything here, I fling everything into my Rucksack of Holding to be sorted out later. I make sure there is absolutely nothing left, except for dried up meat bits stuck fast to the floor boards. I run out, find my bottle of Glorious Dawn Elixir, pop the cork, and sniff heavily on the deliriously sweet aroma just to clear the memory faster than the system would on its own. Suprised by my speed and odd behavior, she asks if I had found it already.

I bring up the Rucksack's inventory, find the equipment belonging to members of the expedition, and exchange them into Dawn's own inventory. I explain to her how I didn't want to waste time searching and that we can just show Lydia the items so she can tell us where the map is. She nods at the train of thought and we walk back to the other wagon. Corvina, dressed in a new set of robes styled in the colors of the Linqs Tunic, had come while I was scooping and brought her a set of clothes. Over the chest of the robes sits the symbol of the Order of the Light, one I've seen on Archbishop Remy and Cardinal Sendo's robes. On her left shoulder is the cursive L I designed for the Kobolds' armor. Seated beside Lydia, Corvina traces dim blue hands across her back and over her forehead.

"Healing Hands… Minor Ailment Purge…" The points of contact with the young Faunus glow brighter with the hands. Lydia takes in a deep breath and lets it out in a harsh stoccato. Another deep breath and her exhale isn't as ragged as the first. "There now. At least you won't have to worry about that. Oh, they're back." A sad smile creeps across Lydia's face and she attempts to stand. Corvina keeps her in her seat, gently holding her by the shoulders.

"Um, did you need me to--" Dawn interrupts Lydia's question with a wave of her hand.

"We'll work it out later. For now, why don't you get some rest in the vardo?" She motions to Corvina and the two of us guide Lydia to her feet. As we pass by, Dawn squeezes my forearm and looks me in the eye for a brief moment. She didn't want to parade everyone's belongings in front of Lydia right now, dragging painful memories out in the open in a time of healing. We'll get the chance. There's no rush.

"She said she's been having trouble sleeping, think you can help her with that, night light?" Dawn asks, chuckling unintentionally at her little pun.

"Of course, but it doesn't keep out the nightmares," I point at my temple and shrug. "But, at least the rest will do her some good."

Back on the road, we left behind the smoldering cage of death and appropriated the other three wagons in a sort of caravan. As silent as we always are when we stalk in formation, the Kobolds can sense my mood has noticeably shifted. I keep catching their stares and guiltily shifting faces. They might remember Lydia, if they got another look or talked to her, but it was fairly chaotic at the time and I wouldn't blame them if they don't.

The main reason I remember her comes from our initial meeting with their group. She was trying to hide amongst her companions, even though she was the only one with chalk white plumage and a look of wonder instead of a hardened stare. Our eyes met and she tilted her head a bit to the side out of curiosity. When I removed my hat, revealing my flaming skull head, her head practically turned upside down. At that point neither of us could contain our laughter, interrupting the meeting, but showing both sides that we were not enemies.

I wait and wait for someone, anyone to speak, to ask me something. Either by fear or lack of understanding of the situation, we continue our march in silence. I take a deep breath, relighting the ambient mana notification and filling my lungs with an intense feeling, like breathing in a cloud of Icy Hot. I rub at my sternum in an attempt to soothe the discomfort in my chest. It's as good a signal as any for my teammates to pry into my inner thoughts.

"Okay, sir?" Dila asks, chewing on one of her claws.

"Yeah." I glance at the honey yellow Kobold. She chirps and tears her hand away from her mouth, gripping her crossbow a little too tight. "Mana's getting denser and it's just affecting me, is all. How are you guys?"

They reply with a round of positive agreement. I smile at them, the way a content father might when walking with happy children as they all speak at once truly believing that you are capable of listening to them simultaneously. My smile melts in a grimace which boils into a teeth-gritting cringe. My march devolves into a shuffle, too stubborn to stop our progression through the forest. Tamu and Dila rush over by my side while Milli and Haro cover our flanks.

"Sir? Sir? Up, sir. Up." Dila shakes my shoulder as I double over on my knees. I look up and see past the kobolds to an albino bush, mockingly waving at me in a cold breeze. The wind causes my squad to flinch and shake off the chill. I allow the flashing red notification to open and for the moment I'm not too fond of my new Feat.

[Fatally High ambient mana: Regen rates will now work in reverse until moved at least 50feet from area of Fatally High ambient mana. Incapacitated Debuff until moved at least 50feet from area of Fatally High ambient mana.]

The world goes dark but my other senses remain on high alert as my body hits the floor. Unable to read my notification the kobolds begin to panic, chittering about what is going on and what they should do. I hear a shout and the rustling of dirt, rock, and vegetation as something slips under and around me. The kobolds' voices strain and I feel a sharp tug under my armpits, the ground beneath me sliding past.

In moments I can hear relief in tiny voices. My eyes are still closed and I can feel my body splaying out on the ground, a rock jamming into my lower back.

"See, see? Was white bush. My bangle tell me it be hurtful."

My first instinct, before healing myself or getting on my feet or even to simply open my eyes, is to use the words "hurtful white bush" in a joke. Just the intention and sheer possibilities cause me chuckle. The vibrations dig the rock deeper into my back and I groan to roll over on my side. My eyes strain to open. Milli's vine slithers around me, releasing me from its grip, and magically wraps back around her wrist.

"You be okay, sir?" Haro asks, sweeping his crossbow at the trees.

"Yeah, I'll be--"

"Ardy! Come in. What's going on?" Vic's voice in my ear suprises me and I shoot up into as sitting position.

"Yeah. Yes. Yes, I'm fine now, thanks to my squad."

"Your entire rainbow bar is critical and you weren't answering for a while. What happened?"

"New Feat. The ambient mana from those albino plants is too much for me, but I'll be okay. There aren't too many and I can just avoid them from now on. Damn, first I couldn't use Arcane Sight on them and now I can't even stand next to one."

We go back and forth like this for a while. In the end I relent to Sonny accompanying my squad. We aren't far, but it's not like there is a pre-built safe area waiting for us in the valley. I explain the new Feat to Vic and she doesn't respond. When Sonny swoops in, to the amazement of the Kobolds especially Milli and Dila, I retell the previous situation and give her the same explanation of Ether Creature.

"You have a good team to have figured it out, Ardy, and I'm glad you're okay." She jumps down from Meteora to give me a tight hug. The Kobolds gather around the sword hovering a foot from the ground and Sonny gives them a mischievous grin, "Wanna ride?"